Prehistoric 50ft Megalodon shark may have been killed off by the Great White

EXTINCT: The Megalodon Shark mysteriously went extinct around three million years ago (Pic: GETTY)

The monstrous sea beast is thought to have died out nearly three million years ago – despite ruling the seas for over 20 million years unchallenged.

For years, people have speculated about what could have seen a creature so powerful and terrifying die out so suddenly.

And now there may be an answer.

A recent study has indicated the modern Great White Shark may be the reason the Megalodon is no longer alive anymore.

FIERCE: The prehistoric 50ft Megalodon shark ruled the oceans for millions of years (Pic: GETTY)

FASTER: The Great White may have been a superior faster hunter than the Meg (Pic: GETTY)

Researchers believe the super shark didn’t actually die out during a marine extinction event that was potentially sparked by a supernova 2.6 million years ago.

This event sparked huge changes in the climate and marine biodiversity that would have led to the deaths of many species.

Instead, experts think the Meg actually died at least a million years earlier than that.

They came to this conclusion after re-examining Megalodon fossils, which they decided had been dated incorrectly.

Explaining their findings, Robert Boessenecker, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, said: "The extinction of O. megalodon was previously thought to be related to this marine mass extinction – but in reality, we now know the two are not immediately related.”

The new timeline coincides with the rise and ocean dominance of today’s Great White.

The team believes the smaller shark outdid its bigger rival in terms of hunting smaller prey.

"We propose that this short overlap (3.6-4 million years ago) was sufficient time for great white sharks to spread worldwide and outcompete O. megalodon throughout its range, driving it to extinction-rather than radiation from outer space,” Mr Boessenecker added.